1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blade clamp mechanism (e.g., a keyless blade clamp mechanism) and to a cutting assembly (such as a saw) comprising the blade clamp mechanism.
2. The Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,208 discloses a clamping mechanism which comprises a driving subassembly with an outer cam surface and an inner cam surface and a locking subassembly. The locking subassembly includes an outer follower surface adapted to be driven by the outer cam surface and an inner follower surface adapted to be driven by the inner cam surface whereby the locking subassembly is moved in the radial direction and locks the blade when the driving subassembly rotates. The inner cam surface presses directly on the outer cam surface to actuate the movement in the radial direction therefore the clamping mechanism is laborious to operate. Furthermore, the components included in the clamping mechanism are subject to relatively large manufacturing errors and the integral cam is difficult to manufacture.